Ashanti stepped to the side as a rat the size of a manhole cover jumped at her. Her heart pounded in her ears as she dodged as fast as she could. She swung her spear at the beast. The spear fell from her hands as it pierced through the creature's stomach. She felt as if she had punched stone. The burst of spiritual energy was barely enough to push away her nerves.

  "Not everyone is built for combat," Joshua said as he held out his hand. "No one would complain if you focused on day-to-day operations. Now that the world's gone to hell, we need that just as much as we need strength."

  Ashanti took his hand and let him help her up. She wiped her hands and then ripped the spear out of the overgrown rat. "You're right. It's just hard to sit in a comfortable office. Safe and well while my son is out doing who knows what. He hasn't told me much about the tutorial. I've pieced together that it wasn't safe or easy. He likely came close to dying several times. I want to help him the best I can."

  Joshua was quiet for a moment. Ashanti glanced at the body and knew she was barely making progress. She would need to kill at least ten more of those to level up. Now that she saw it for herself, her soon only became stranger. She knew something had changed about him. He looked different. More of a statue than a normal person. She wasn't sure what affinity was. The library hadn't provided much actionable information, but it couldn't make such a significant difference. At least she hoped it didn't. She wasn't sure she could reach level 10 before he reached level 50. She knew she could go and chase down stronger monsters, but that wasn't an option for her. She couldn't afford to risk her life when things were so fragile. Maximilian held Nubia together, but it was she who kept it functioning. That stopped the vultures from stealing the small amount of benefits.

  "You are doing more than enough. I don't think he needs people to fight with him. At least not now. It's hard to explain, but the gap between him and me is growing." Joshua began. "At first, I thought it was something he gained during the tutorial, but now? Now I can't be sure. He feels like a mountain. One that becomes heavier day by day." He shook his head. "What I mean is comparing yourself to him is pointless. You are already helping him by ensuring he has a safe place to come back to—a home. You are also someone who still treats him like he's normal. He will need both of those."

  Ashanti nodded and scanned the trees. She doubted anything would come after them here. Even if she wasn't much of a fighter, Joshua was, and the weaker beasts tended to avoid attacking pairs if they could avoid it. "We should head back." She said. "I have reports to go over. I also want to ensure that food production continues smoothly." They started back toward Nubia. The walk was quiet as Ashanti allowed her mind to wander. She had hoped coming out here would help with the nervous energy. Yet, it hadn't. If anything, she felt worse. She knew Joshua was right. She knew she couldn't protect Maximilian from this. Yet she couldn't help but want to. She at least wanted to be there with him. That way he'd have someone he could trust. She pulled up the leaderboard and stared.

  She didn't qualify for the top 100. She had learned a bit more about the list. Other people should have qualified based on their level, but they didn't. Level 3 was the minimum level required to be included on the list. She had taken a survey of everyone in Nubia. She hoped to reveal something that they had or hadn't done. Something that would explain why almost no one in Nubia was on the list. She wasn't sure they could count on Alejandro, so he was an unknown as much as she didn't like it. Nubia was probably the weakest country in terms of military power. Not counting her son, of course. That wasn't good. They lived or died based on her son. To make a bad situation worse, everyone was okay with that. The small "army" wasn't much of a combat force. It was more akin to a loose connection of people who fought for enjoyment. They made progress, but they weren't serious about it. They weren't willing to risk their lives, and they weren't really leveling. They brought back just enough food to offset what they ate, and that was it. Further, they weren't meditating. She wasn't sure how important that was since she couldn't do it. She had tried, but there was nothing. Maximilian said she should feel the energy around her. It hadn't worked. Part of her wanted to write it off, but she saw how often he did it.

  "Joshua, you're a cultivator, right? How do you pull energy from the world inside you?" She asked as they entered Nubia.

  "Well, it's about the technique. The tutorial's was good enough. It's more of a mental exercise, I guess. You focus on your breathing until you feel it—the energy, I mean. Once you can feel it, you 'suck' it up. As if you were taking a deep breath."

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  Ashanti nodded along, but his answer made no more sense than Maximilian's had. As far as she knew, it was impossible for her, which grated on her nerves. This world had given her son and husband power, but left her with nothing. She wasn't sure if she was being punished for something or if it was a cosmic joke. Her hopelessness irritated her, but she wouldn't let it distract her. She was still an administrator. She still represented her son. "Joshua, go and check the general mood of the place. I want to know if there are any rumors. Check on the array as well. Tell me if anything is off. No matter how small."

  Joshua nodded and disappeared into the crowded streets. Ashanti stood there for a few more minutes. Until she was confident he couldn't see her anymore. She then cracked her neck and headed into the government office. The walk to her office was a short distance. A path that felt more and more comforting by the day. She took a seat at her desk and grabbed a slip from the small mound on her desk. They had gotten better at recording information on these. Especially now that clean paper was in short supply. She pushed a thread of energy into it and grimaced. The information download was still unpleasant. It reminded her of a brain freeze only without the cold.

  Yao Wei stepped to the right to avoid a short sword. His fist snapped out like a whip to catch the armored warrior in the side of the head. The exchange was brief, but it revealed more than enough. Yao Wei was stronger, but he wasn't strong enough to get through the armor. It was a problem, but one he couldn't deal with. No, the real issue was the weird puppet. His gaze shifted to the seven-foot-tall being that sat on the roof two buildings over. Every time they stopped fighting, the puppet would open its eyes. An inhuman pressure would fall on them as if they had angered a god. They had been at this for almost two hours. He was certain his opponent felt the same. His last blow lacked the same intent as when they started, as if he were putting on a show. They locked eyes, and Yao Wei rubbed his treasure ring. He was confident it would protect him from one blow. He needed to escape. He needed to regroup with the rest of the clan and hide.

  The warrior shot toward him, shortsword raised. The blade shone beneath the moonlight. Wei blocked the strike with the bracers on his right arm and unleashed a short jab with his left. His fist met the warrior's face guard. Before they had finished their strikes, Yao Wei used the force of the sword to spin around behind the warrior. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a chokehold. A swift kick to the back of his knee brought the other man down. Before he could finish the maneuver, his danger sense screamed a warning. He released the other fighter and leapt away. As soon as he touched down, the pressure arrived. His nostrils flared as he fought to stay on his feet. The puppet's lifeless eyes stared back at him.

  Yet he refused to give in. Metal slid against stone as the other warriors collapsed. He needed to hold out a bit longer. His bones ground together as he resisted. The puppet finally got to his feet. He knew that this had happened partially because of him. He should have ordered the retreat as soon as night fell, but how was he to know how strong that thing would be? He bit back the wasted thoughts as the ground beneath the puppet exploded. The time between the warning and the thing's arrival was less than a second—barely enough time to turn what could have been a fatal blow into a grazing wound. Spiritual energy surged into the sigil on his hand. Strike was his first skill and his simplest, but it was reliable. Reliability was what he needed right now. His haymaker landed like lightning. A blow that would have killed anyone from the old world. The puppet barely noticed.

  Yao Wei's instincts screamed at him as the puppet unleashed a powerful open-hand strike. Right before its hand connected with his chest, a golden barrier of energy sprang up. The defensive treasure lasted a fraction of a second, but it was enough. Over a decade of combat training allowed him to shift his body to take the hit. Despite all of his preparations, it felt like he had been hit by a train. He screamed as several ribs broke, but he had succeeded. The puppet's blow shot him backwards like a cannon. He relished the small victory for a moment before he planned his next move. He was relieved to see that his ring was damaged but not broken. A trickle of spiritual energy told him that he could activate it again.

  However, he was sure that it would be the last time. He passed his spiritual eye over his body and grimaced. He had shattered two ribs as well as three bones in the hand that hit the puppet. He flipped to bleed off the last of the moment. Spiritual energy flooded into his limbs as he took off. As far as he could tell, the thing wasn't chasing him, but he couldn't afford to wait around and find out. He ran for an hour before the pain forced him to take refuge inside a nearby empty building. He wasn't willing to try one of the houses, nor could he risk reuniting with the clan. If he brought that thing to them? No, it would be better to die alone than risk that. He slumped against a wall and circulated his energy. Even relying on spiritual energy, it would take him hours to recover enough to fight again.

  He cursed the Network for not allowing them to bring healing items. How were they supposed to fight something like that without healing pills? Possibly, if he could unite with Justinian and Maximilian, but even that might not be enough. Was it a trial? Were they supposed to hide from it? There was no way to know for sure. Yao Wei took a moment to calm down as he reviewed his options. From what he could tell, the dolls didn't appear until night fell. This could be a survival situation. One where he needed to hide, or rather survive, until the sun rose.

  If that were the case, the smart thing to do would be to wait it out. Based on the tutorial, that would be the wrong move. Assuming this trial worked the same night would be the best time to grow in power. He groaned as he flexed his hand. He could fight the weaker puppets. He sighed and flexed his fingers. Pain shot through him like acid through his veins. Strength or safety. It was just like his time in the military. Safety was poison. Comfort was poison. You had to get stronger or you would be dragged down. He crossed his legs and started his cultivation technique. He would recover for an hour and then set out again. He would march on for the glory of his clan and to carve a place for them in the new world, no matter the price.

  General Salvius paced up and down the rows of injured soldiers. Their performance started a steady decline almost as soon as the trial began. They had intended to enter the trial as one whole. A single army led by him beneath the imperial family. A force that would have overrun the rebels and found every treasure the place had. He would have received enough military honors that his family would be set for a generation. Yet, it all turned to ashes. First, they were scattered. A setback, but nothing too risky. The city was far larger than the capital, but they had the manpower. Then real danger began with the city's traps. They hadn't brought enough formation masters to deal with them. Which meant they were forced to enter on their own.

  The first few went well. They grew confident. Only for the city to snap shut on them as if it were all an elaborate trap, he lost more and more of his soldiers. Even that was something they could handle. If with more loss of life than he wanted. The next calamity was the otherworlders. He wasn't sure how many there were or why they were here. They had been led to believe the trial tokens were rewards from the so-called Network—proof of their serperirioty. Yet the otherworlders were here in numbers. Many of them weren't even human. It was enough to make him wonder if they were pawns in some game. The combat strength of the otherworlders made no sense. Some seemed like peasants who had never held a weapon and never watched the life drain out of a foe. While others still fought with the savageness of a wild animal. Being near death seemed to grant them new power.

  That didn't take into account the strange humans. He had heard of three so far. Of which the spear-wielder had caused him the most trouble. The man would've joined the imperial guard if he had been born on Ecorum. He had tried to recruit the fool, but he refused. A wound on his right arm was proof of the man's power, but he was still a barbarian. He could be killed. Only the squads sent to find him were killed. Even his lieutenant was missing in action. The fool wasn't supposed to engage. Trovius was competent, but it was no secret that he wanted to improve his position. If it weren't for his loyalty to the empire, he would've thought Trovius in on it. That brought him to the third and current calamity. The night had come alive.

  Only, instead of humans or monsters attacking, it was people made of stone. Lifeless dolls constructed to spite him. His scout had divided them into two classes. Low-level grunts that were between the Early and Middle Foundation realms. The strongest of them was equal to a classed soldier. If those were the only threats, he could handle it. They could handle it. It was the second group that terrified him the most. That kept him and his men huddled in an old barracks. The second group acted as overseers to the others. They wouldn't join the battles until some hidden requirement was met. They were the equivalent of a late or high foundation realm. Maybe even stronger. Removing one of them would likely require the King to act in conjunction with the princes. Even that might not be enough.

  General Salvius stood at the entrance to the barracks. His eyes settled on the doll, keeping them trapped here. It was a bit shorter than him and wielded no weapons. Even using Clear Eye, he could barely see the spiritual energy inside it. The doll had channels, but they weren't the same as a cultivator. At least none that he had seen before. They were carved by hand. This meant that someone had intentionally created these things. He briefly wondered if it was the otherworlders, but he doubted it. If they could field a force like this, then forget beating them. Just survivng the month would be a stretch. He would recommend that the imperial family retreat as soon as possible. No, his gut told him this was related to the trial. He turned to address his soldiers. "Settle in here for the night. I want five of you on watch at any given time. If that damned puppet moves, inform me immediately."